It has taken him 10 years to get on the show - but Andrew Bateup made the most of his debut on ITV's The Voice last night as he booked his place in the next round.

Performing a version of Michael Bolton's How Am I Supposed to Live Without You, the 31-year-old, who grew up in Tunbridge Wells, managed to get two of the famous judges turning their chairs.

The singing contest gives performers the chance to dazzle with their vocal technique in blind auditions, with judges only setting eyes on the singer if they choose to turn to face them - and thus securing them a place in the next phase of the contest.

The former Skinners School pupil got the support of both Olly Murs and Sir Tom Jones - before opting to join Team Murs.

After the show, Olly Murs - who was clearly moved during the performance - tweeted: "Oh my God, how lovely is Andrew Bateup?".

It marked the end of numerous attempts to reach the televised stage of the show.

Before his performance he had said: "I’ve actually applied for The Voice a few times over the last 10 years but never managed to get all the way onto the blind auditions."

Andrew went into the world of musical theatre after leaving college and performed on the UK tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for three years and also toured the US in the Choir Of Man.

More recently, he's been teaching singing at a girls' school in South West London and gigging on the side at weddings as a singing waiter.

He said: "We actually did some filming at the Skinners School in my old music department prior to the blind audition being aired."

Read more: All the latest news from Tunbridge Wells